Lost Connections
by Light of the Dawn
Summary: A Watership Down oneshot based on the Watership Down tv series. Focusing on Blackberry and Hazel. Tried to keep it as close to the script as I could even with all the changes in plot.


Lost Connections

Based on the tv series, not the novel.

I do not own Watership Down.

* * *

"Now you boys have to dig like does!" Keehar laughed, unable to contain himself.

"Be quiet or I'll clip your beak." Bigwig responded, upset that he'd lost the game of bobstones.

"You cheated!" Hawkbit growled at Fiver, drawing himself up to his full height in an attempt to intimidate Hazel's younger brother.

"Make up your mind! First I don't have any powers, and now I'm using them to cheat?"

"Owsla honour demands that I accept my loss, whether it was fair or not." Bigwig gave Fiver a dirty look before turning to look over the Downs. "Come on, let's go get some Owsla training in before we have to do does-work tomorrow."

Along with Dandelion, Hawkbit and Pipkin, he hopped off down the slope to get some practice.

"Thanks Hazel." Blackberry said quietly, her blue-gray ears turned towards him. Fiver glanced at the duo before hopping after Bigwig's group for Owsla training.

"No problem Blackberry, we can't expect you to do all the digging." Hazel replied, smiling at the blue-gray doe. "Besides, they'll come around eventually. They have to understand that we need to do equal work to make the warren big enough to get everyone underground. Like I said, Fiver and I don't expect you to do all the digging by yourself."

"Thanks, Hazel." Blackberry rubbed her head under Hazel's chin, closing her eyes and inhaling his scent.

"Blackberry?" Hazel was undoubtedly surprised by Blackberry's sudden embrace. However, instead of answering, she darted back inside of the warren and resumed digging as though nothing had happened.

* * *

"Are we done yet?" Bigwig complained, his paws working furiously to shift the dirt inside their lost-and-found burrow.

"Not yet, but it's coming along nicely." Blackberry responded, hopping over to inspect Bigwig's progress. "We'll be done in no time."

"Not soon enough!" Hawkbit muttered with a frustrated moan. "My paws feel like they're going to fall off!"

"We can't stop yet. The sooner everyone is underground, the better!" Hazel responded, catching Blackberry's attention.

"Well, you've all done very well -" Blackberry's comment was cut off by a rumbling feeling beneath her paws. Bigwig's furious digging had destroyed a dirt support, and the tunnels appeared to be collapsing. Unsure of the severity of the event, Blackberry cried out. "Cave-in!"

In seconds, everyone was covered in dirt. The rabbits were all buried up to their noses in dirt, but nobody had trouble freeing themselves from the debris. Blackberry looked around, inspecting the damage. "Is everyone alright?"

After being reassured that nobody had been injured in the cave-in, Hawkbit spoke. "Is this good enough?"

"Yes, I think this is very good. Once we get all this debris out of the way, I think this chamber is big enough." Blackberry replied, nodding her head.

"Look!" Pipkin exclaimed in wonder. "It looks like a giant honeycomb!"

Pipkin's exclamation caught the attention of everyone, who followed the little brown rabbit's gaze to the roof of the chamber, where the roots of the tree above them had created a tangle of roots that were forming honeycomb patterns above them.

"Then that's what we'll call this chamber;" Blackberry announced with a smile. "the Honeycomb."

* * *

"Blackberry, the burrows look fantastic." Hazel complimented the blue-gray doe, who was still working on fixing the burrows. Currently she was working on packing all of the debris that she could manage into strengthening the current walls and tunnels. "You did a fantastic job leading the digging yesterday."

"Thanks Hazel, but I can't take the credit. Bigwig was the one who caused the cave-in." Blackberry responded, deflecting the compliment. "I'm a doe, does dig. It was nothing special."

"We couldn't have done it without you." Hazel insisted, putting a paw against the firm dirt wall of the Honeycomb. "Watership Down is lucky to have you as a part of our warren."

Blackberry stopped what she was doing. She sat back on her haunches and looked at Hazel, her blue eyes wide and head cocked to the side. She looked as though Hazel's words had touched her deeply. Then, she seemed to snap out of that state and responded to Hazel's words. "Watership Down is luckier to have you as part of our warren."

The duo were silent for a moment, as Hazel wondered why Blackberry was refusing every compliment that he offered her. Blackberry put her forepaws on the ground of the warren. She took a deep breath before hopping towards Hazel, her eyes looking everywhere but at him. She seemed about to say something when Hannah's voice destroyed what moment it was that they were having.

"Rabbits!" The little mouse cried, the urgency in her voice strong. "Help! Weasel on the Down! Weasel on the Down!"

"What, do you expect us to go off and do battle with the Weasel?" Bigwig's voice had an edge to it like a claw. "We're rabbits, not dogs."

"Pipkin is down there!" Hannah replied, too worried about the little brown rabbit to be tart with the big brown buck. "The Weasel is going to get Pipkin!"

"Pipkin?" Hazel asked, darting out of the warren.

* * *

Nosing her way to the entrance of the burrows, Blackberry came out on the surface, and walked in on a discussion between Bigwig and Hazel. The rest of the rabbits were watching the two arguing bucks, and nobody bothered acknowledging Blackberry.

"Bigwig, you're a strong leader, just the kind of Rabbit that Watership Down needs. I'm Weasel-bait."

"Hazel, the Black Rabbit of Inle is looking for me. Pipkin heard him calling for me." Bigwig looked embarrassed. "I'll give that weasel a fight, and take him to the other end of the tunnel. Watership Down wouldn't be here if it weren't for you, and the warren will thrive under your command."

"Rabbits!" Hannah's voice came from behind Blackberry, as the brown field mouse racing from the tunnels. "Come quick, look at this!"

Hannah lead the group of rabbits into the cave the Pipkin had discovered after Bigwig's cave-in. She dashed into the cave, then paused. "Hazel, follow me!" Hazel obeyed and took a few steps into the tunnel. Hannah dashed off ahead, then disappeared. Suddenly, she appeared through a mouse-sized tunnel and tapped Hazel on the shoulder. "I'll be your Weasel-bait."

Hazel nodded. "This is excellent Hannah. You're amazing."

"And you said mice weren't any good." Hannah said to Bigwig, giving him a 'told you so' look before dashing off out of the burrows. Bigwig looked embarrassed, but followed the mouse outside, calling the Owsla out after him.

Hazel was about to join them when Blackberry spoke. "Hazel,"

"Yes, Blackberry?" The brown male asked, stopping and sitting back on his hindquarters as he waited for her response.

"Could you come and look at one of the burrows with me, please?" Blackberry asked. She didn't wait for an answer, and hopped off to the burrow, giving Hazel no option but to follow her.

She took him to a tunnel at the back of the Honeycomb. It had many small burrow-starts carved into it as it snaked around a bend. At the end of the bend, there was a large burrow, a miniature version of the Honeycomb, minus the root-ceiling. It was only a moment before Hazel joined her.

"Why did you volunteer to be weasel-bait?" Blackberry asked quietly.

Hazel looked a bit taken aback by this question. However, he answered immediately. "I thought that Watership Down would be best left to Bigwig."

"Can't you see that Watership Down needs you?" Blackberry responded. "I need you."

Blackberry's last comment left Hazel dumbstruck. He didn't say anything, but looked as though he was trying to process what had just been said. Blackberry closed the gap between them, embracing Hazel as she had done before. Her touch seemed to pull Hazel out of his state of shock.

"Blackberry, I didn't know that you felt this way."

"Hazel, why do you think I came on this journey? I was afraid of Fiver's vision, yes, but I more so came because _you_ were coming." Blackberry replied, sitting back on her hind paws. "I believed because _you_ believed."

* * *

As Hannah emerged from her secret tunnel, and the bucks worked on packing down the dirt in the tunnel so that the weasel couldn't escape, Blackberry sat back, nodding with approval at their work.

"You're getting better." She teased. "You're almost as good as does."

"With the weasel taken care of, we should celebrate with flay-rah!" Hazel responded, sitting up on his hind paws.

"Flay-rah? What's the special occasion?" Bigwig asked, shouldering the dirt in an attempt to pack it down more firmly.

"Blackberry's just told me; I'm going to be a father." Hazel replied hopping over to the blue-gray doe.

"_I_ could've told you _that_." Fiver responded.

"I didn't know you had it in you." Bigwig replied, nodding with satisfaction. "Good job, my old son."

* * *

And that completes my Watership Down fanfic. I tried to keep it as close to the regular events as I could, but I couldn't remember everything. I wanted to keep most of the conversation the same, but I couldn't remember all the exact quotes.

Thanks for reading, and if you liked it, please review. If enough people want me to, I'll write a sequel. After all, what will become of Hazel and Blackberry's children? What about Primrose and Blackavar? And Campion?

If my readers like it, I'll write more Watership Down. If they don't, then I probably won't.

Please review!


End file.
